


Love Remains The Same

by brokenhighways



Series: Happy Endings [12]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-14 01:08:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2172189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenhighways/pseuds/brokenhighways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared discovers that planning a wedding he actually wants to go through with is just as hard when he factors in meddling friends and a fiancé who maybe doesn’t trust him. Meanwhile, Jensen sometimes wonders how they ever thought they could live apart, how they survived during the period when they were broken up. He always comes to the conclusion that it doesn't matter - that’s all in the past. What matters is the present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Remains The Same

**Author's Note:**

> This is essentially two parts in one, but I owe it to anyone still interested in this verse to post the whole damn thing at once! ;) I’ve been writing this part for a long time. Since March, which probably explains why it hasn’t been completed since; it was a crazy month and this story kind of got left behind as I completed various challenges etc. I did contemplate leaving it as it was, but it wouldn’t let me go, so without any further ado, here is the last part of the Happy Endings verse! I even made a shiny banner to go with it (it was more random images + Pixlr than me, but hey, I’m taking all of the credit. Thank you to everyone who’s read this verse!! <3 Title is from Gavin Rossdale.

  
   
  
Many thanks to [](http://soncnica.livejournal.com/profile)[soncnica](http://soncnica.livejournal.com/) for her awesome beta efforts! <3

  
[Download PDF of full verse.](https://app.box.com/s/8uryfv7fkmez9kb83091)   


  
~

Part One  
  
 **Jared**  
  
Jared's pretty sure that breakfast conversations are not supposed to go like this. And he's  _definitely_  sure that breakfast conversation in public are really not supposed to go like this. Alas, he's friends with Chad so he probably shouldn't be surprised when his best friend announces that he's going into the porn industry.  
  
"The beside the scenes stuff," Chad clarifies when they all stare at him wordlessly. "Though, I would look  _great_  on camera."  
  
Jensen snorts and mutters, "Only if you were in a full body cast. And not visible at all." Jared kicks his foot under the table before trying to reason with Chad.  
  
"Is this really a wise career choice?" he asks. "Because if this is about you keeping up with rent when I move out, I'm sure that Je---"  
  
"No," Jensen says sternly. "I am not his personal bank. Oh no wait, bank loans are actually  _paid_  back!" Jared refrains from sighing; he could get Jensen to relent if he wanted to, but he doesn't want to be  _that_  guy. And also it’s kind of unfair to expect Jensen to help him bail Chad out all of the time. Chad needs to be responsible for himself from now on. Maybe this whole....porn thing won't be so bad.  
  
"What are you specialising in?" Katie asks around her crepes. "Two V's? Two D's? One V, One D?"  
  
Chad blinks at her. "Uh, I don't know. My buddy works in production so he'll decide that. I am going to be working on shooting, lighting, that kind of stuff."  
  
"Can we swap jobs?" Danneel says dreamily. "At least for the days with Two D's."  
  
"How close do you have to get to the action anyway?" Katie asks. "Right in there, or is there like a special zoom function on the camera?"  
  
Danneel frowns. "It's just like shooting a normal movie, Katie. You know I accidentally did an entire PR campaign for a porn production company once."  
  
"Accidentally?" Aldis raises an eyebrow.  
  
"And what PR does a porn company really need?" Jensen adds dryly. "That's what Google is for." Jared looks around briefly and sees that there are people looking at their table. He winces inwardly; they're not the quietest bunch, and it  _is_ eight in the morning. He wonders if anyone would notice if he hid under the table.  
  
"They told me they were a film production team who specialised in short, tasteful movies," Danneel explains. "And then I got there and it was like, hello! Naked people. Having sex. Needless to say, my boss was not happy."  
  
"You know Chad, if you manage to stick at this for more than an hour, I have a whole bunch of pointers," Katie says. "Actually I'm going to make a list." She reaches into her bag and pulls out her moleskin notebook.  
  
"You wouldn't think that her husband was sitting right next to her," Aldis says as she starts to write furiously.  
  
"The same way you wouldn't think that Aldis has the worst porn collection in the history of porn collections," Katie retorts without looking up.  
  
Jared barely manages to keep himself from banging his head against the wall. "Maybe we should talk about this later, guys?"  
  
“Some of us aren’t talking,” Jensen says in a sing-song voice. “Some of us are trying to read the paaaper.” He holds up his paper and shakes it around. Jared refrains from grabbing it and whacking him over the head with it.  
  
“And some of us are trying to eat our breakfast in peace!” The man from the next table explodes into a fit of rage, his plate of bacon spinning into the salt shaker wildly. Jared sends him an apologetic look because he’s actually got a little decorum. The rest of his friends react a little differently.  
  
“What are you saying?” Chad says. “I don’t see how we disturbed you, man. You look like you’ve been enjoying your bacon over there. You look like you’ve been enjoying a lot of bacon full stop.”  
  
“I have a thyroid condition!” the man yells. Jared puts his face into his hands. “But that’s beside the point. You people are always causing a ruckus.”  
  
“Who even says ‘causing a ruckus’ anymore?” Katie chimes in.  
  
The man turns to glare at her. “No one was talking to you, Blondie. Adults are speaking here.”  
  
“Whoa, dude,” Aldis says. “That’s my wife you’re disrespecting. You might want to watch it.”  
  
“To think that I thought today was going to be uneventful,” Chad says brightly. Jared doesn’t hesitate to whack him across the head. Chad flips him off as he rubs at the sore spot. Jared’s known for his peace brokering, so he decides to diffuse the situation.  
  
“Look, let’s all just calm down and forget that any of this happened. We’ll be quiet.” He picks up his coffee cup, and hopes that the guy will just let it go.  
  
“Sure we can do that,” the man says. “But you do realise that you’re going to hell, right?” Jared regrets picking up his coffee because it ends up being sprayed down his shirt as he splutters. “What?!”  
  
“Marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman,” the man says. “I thought you’d put the notion out of your head and found God when you called off your previous engagement, but apparently I was wrong.”  
  
“Are you stalking us?” Jensen asks. “How do you even know all of that?”  
  
A voice sounds from further back in the diner. “In his defence, you guys do kind of tend to discuss your personal lives at a ridiculously high volume.”  
  
“Was anyone talking to you?” Jensen says in the direction of the voice.  
  
“Uhm, no?”  
  
“Then shut the fuck up.” Jared snorts at that, and then he starts laughing.  
  
“I have overheard enough to know that all of you are going to hell,” the man says. “And you know what? I won’t be eating here again.”  
  
“Why?” Danneel asks. “Are you scared that your bacon’s going to be contaminated by our hell cooties?” The man doesn’t answer; he merely slaps a couple of crumpled bills into the table and leaves hastily.  
  
“Well,” Jensen says. “That was interesting. Are we worried about ending up in hell?”  
  
“Not really,” Chad says. “He’s not the first person to tell me that my soul is damned.”  
  
“I would have expected Jared to flip his lid,” Danneel muses. “You are into ghosts and all of the weird shit that really only exists on TV.”  
  
Jared cocks an eyebrow. “That’s what they want you to think.”  
  
“Jared pretty much only cares about ghosts,” Jensen says with a wry smile. “It’s kind of a cute story actually—“  
  
“And one that we won’t be sharing today!” Jared cuts in. Katie and Danneel both groan loudly.  
  
“Don’t worry, Katie,” Danneel says. “Give it a couple of tequila shots and Jensen will sing like a canary.” Jensen mumbles something to the contrary as he glances at his watch and soon he’s standing up and grabbing his jacket.  
  
“I’ve got to go and work for the man,” he says. “I’ll see your sorry asses later. Try to stay out of hell!” He’s out of the diner before any of them can even say goodbye and they all turn to face Jared. He sighs.  
  
 **Earlier this morning**  
  
 _Jared is hiding on the roof. Well, technically he's not hiding. It's more...feeding the cat at this precise moment so that Jensen doesn't try to drag him into a conversation about their wedding. Ever since they agreed to try again, it's been a shower of questions. Are they doing a theme? What colour napkins would Jared choose? How many guests are they inviting? Are they getting Chad to officiate or someone they can trust not to make inappropriate comments? Question after question and it's making Jared feel dizzy and overwhelmed. It's not that he doesn't appreciate Jensen's sudden interest, it is that it's obvious that Jensen is trying to make up for last time. Jared doesn't know how to tell him that it's okay, that he doesn't need to over involve himself. Jensen's unwillingness to participate in a wedding wasn't the reason why they broke up. And truth be told, he knows now that he doesn't want a big show, doesn't want to spend money they don't have on day that should be about love, and not material things. The problem is that, he doesn't know how to tell Jensen that. So he's hiding up here, playing with the cat that hangs around their building._  
  
 _By the time he makes it back inside, Jensen is pacing in the piano room and Jared feels guilt weighing him down. He watches Jensen through the crack in the door and wonders if this is a bad sign. He should come clean, but believe it or not, he's actually got a surprise of his own. At this rate though, it'll go to waste._  
  
 _"Hey, are you okay?" he asks as he pushes the door. "I was just out on the roof." Jensen's quiet for a long time. The silence grows so loud that he can hear the clock ticking, each stroke signifying a missed opportunity to be honest to *communicate*, the way Jared swore that he would._  
  
 _"You went up there a lot before...you know," Jensen says. There's a hint of anger in his voice, that slightly rough edge it takes on minutes before he explodes. Jared grimaces to himself. Only *he* would somehow turn something nice into his fiancé thinking he wants to call of their wedding - again. The surprise is this; he and Jensen are getting married in a week. He and Chad have almost everything sorted out, the service, the reception and Jared wanted it to be surprise right up until the moment outside the venue. He knows how cheesy and ridiculous it sounds, but he doesn't want to wait. They've been together for too long to get caught up in wedding plans and the mess that comes with them._  
  
 _"I'm not having second thoughts," he says. "I swear."_  
  
 _Jensen shrugs and checks his watch, "we can talk about this later. I said we'd meet the others for breakfast."_  
  
~~  
  
Chad shakes his head as Jared finishes recalling the morning's events. "I told you that not telling Jensen was a bad idea." Jared rolls his eyes.  
  
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Danneel says, her voice laced with suspicion. "What haven't you told Jensen?"  
  
"That Mr Smooth over here wants to have a surprise wedding." Chad wastes no time in spilling the beans, but at this point he might as well, it’s obvious that it was a terrible idea from the moment that he conceived it; keeping a secret is a lost cause. Jared just doesn't have the mental willpower (or the face for it).  
  
Danneel raises a brow. "That's a terrible idea!"  
  
"If you were marrying someone else, I'd be all for it but Jensen does not do surprises," Katie points out. It's true to an extent, Jensen doesn't like surprises, however, he's not completely averse to them. And while he loves his friends, this has nothing to do with them. In fact, he and Jensen have spoken at length about allowing their friends to meddle in their relationship and decided that they're not going to go running to Chad or Danneel at the first sign of trouble.  
  
"No offence guys, but this is my wedding and I'm going to do it my way," he says a little angrily. He turns to Chad. "If you thought it was a stupid idea you could have told me, instead of doing something I explicitly asked you not to do. Consider yourself relieved of your duties. I can get someone else to officiate."  
  
Chad splutters in disbelief, "Jared come on, I was just trying to help you!" Jared's shaking his head even before Chad's done, wallet in hand as he pulls out a couple of bills. He slaps them on the table as he stands. With one last head shake he leaves, no parting words falling from his mouth.  
  
~  
  
Jensen's working through his lunch hour when Jared reaches his office. He's spent the morning burning away his frustration at the gym, but he's still pissed off. Mostly because he's scared that this will be a surprise that goes wrong, unlike all of the ones he's given Jensen away from prying eyes. See there's a reason why Jensen hates them, he thinks they're that one moment where people are completely vulnerable, completely out of control and he doesn't want to face that in front of prying eyes. Jared knows that there's a story behind it, but he's never asked. If it was important Jensen would tell him, maybe one day in the future or tomorrow, but he's not going to force it out of him.  
  
"I wasn't expecting to see you here." Jensen's words are short and to the point and it's obvious that he's still angry. Jared bites back a groan, wishing that he could start this day over. He'd stay off the roof for starters, and whack Chad over the head with a menu before he could open his stupid mouth.  
  
"I know that you're mad at me but can you just forget about it for a second?" It's a weak plea but he has to try.  
  
Jensen stops looking at his screen, his eyes meeting Jared's at last. "I can't forget Jared, not when I have no idea what's going on inside your head."  
  
Fuck it.  
  
"I've been planning our wedding!" The words crash and tumble out of his mouth as his frustration reaches breaking point. "I was trying to surprise you, but our lovely friends think it's stupid and you? You seem to have magically forgotten everything we've said to each other in the past few weeks. At the first sign of, I don't know, trouble, you're already thinking the worst. Bringing up shit that we agreed to bury."  
  
Jensen looks surprised, which is an irony in itself. "I...I'm sorry." That's not what Jared wants to hear. Jensen doesn't need to be sorry.  
  
"You want to know why I've come clean?" he asks. "Partly because Chad told the group already and mostly because I can't spend another evening with you giving me accusing eyes but carefully not saying a word. There's no point in us getting married if you don't trust me. I can only promise that I won't fuck up again, I can't make you believe it. But what I also can't do is let you throw it in my face every time something happens. It might be what I deserve but....I just, can't." He turns to flee, ignoring Jensen calling him back. He wants to get away from everything and just find some peace. Somewhere. Anywhere.  
  
However, fate twists its magic wand and Jared finds himself walking into Tom Welling.  
  
~  
  
Tom is uncomfortable. That's the first observation Jared makes as they sit in the park, neither of them speaking a word. He's fidgety, nervous and clearly wants to get out of here but Jared's not going to let him go.  
  
"You know, I get Justin coming up with some silly spiteful plan, but not why you went along with it?" He breaks the ice, eyes fixed on the fluidity of the shimmering lake before them. Small waves rippling, like a heartbeat or emotion. He wants to know what would possess another person to do something so mean spirited, but also he feels as though he owes a lot to Tom. He and Jensen might be on the outs now, but it could be worse. They could be married and cracking at the seams as their problems threaten to destroy them.  
  
Tom swallows audibly. "He was my friend and I was trying to help him. He loves Jensen and...I just saw you as collateral damage. I'm sorry but...at the same time I'm not."  
  
Jared snorts. "Oh, you're not? Please don't let me hold you back from explaining."  
  
"You were a wreck, a complete mess," Tom says. "It was obvious that you and Jensen weren't going to last, I just sped up the revelation. Justin aside, you were already tail spinning, I just helped you hit the stop button."  
  
"You betrayed me!" Jared hisses. "I told you everything, and you twisted it. Sure, the seeds may already have been sowed, but you can't act like what happened was always going to. You don't know that." The words sound hollow even to him, but he needs to get them out; he needs to have it out with Tom, to find some real closure here.  
  
Tom shrugs. "You seem like a nice guy, but given all I've heard about Jensen, I'm maybe not the best person to have this conversation with."  
  
"You're an asshole," Jared says, ignoring the look of disapproval a passerby gives him. "How about not leading your friend astray?"  
  
"Tried," Tom says bluntly. "He had to come to his senses the hard way. And, you can be pissed at me all you want, but I've had a lot of time to think about all that I did, and you can't pin anything on me. You're a coward."  
  
Jared scoffs, "I'll ask when I want your dime store psychology, but until then, how about you shut the fuck up." Tom laughs bitterly and Jared starts to think that ending up in a jail cell would be worth it if he decides to silence him with his fist. Thankfully Tom seems to sense that his presence is no longer welcome.  
  
"The truth hurts doesn't it," he says. "Look, I've got to go but you love Jensen, and he loves you. Sometimes life really is that simple."  
  
Jared watches him silently as he leaves. They’ve said all that they needed to.  
  
~  
  
Jensen finds him hours later, still on that bench. He hasn't moved, save a dash to the bathroom when the urge became hard to ignore. He's busy thinking - about life, Jensen, Tom and the past year. He thinks about how dull life was without Jensen, how much he missed because he was  _scared_ , and he wonders if it's okay that he's still scared. That he wakes up every day wondering if he and Jensen should be together, how he still thinks that Jensen's never going to get over what he did. He thinks about how he needs to forgive himself, needs to stop letting fear ruin everything. This is his life, his destiny and he doesn't need to be scared; he just needs to live.  
  
He barely registers Jensen's presence, even after the bench creaks under their weight. He's still trapped in his thoughts, lost in the blackness of his mind.  
  
"I'm not throwing anything in your face," Jensen says, choosing to start from where they left off. Jared doesn't look at him, doesn't answer for the longest time.  
  
"I know," he says eventually. "I know. I've been doing it to myself because...I don't think that I deserve to be happy. Not after what I was willing to throw away, after everything we've both put into this relationship."  
  
Jensen shifts beside him. "I wish there was a way I could take that feeling away but all I can say is that I trust you. I love you, and yes, I freaked out but I'm only human, Jared. If we keep trying to pretend we weren't apart for a year then...this won't work. You've got to give me some leeway here, and understand it wasn't just you who called time on us, it was me too. I could have gotten you back if I'd tried, if I hadn't been so wrapped up in feeling hurt and betrayed. And I know that because when we were apart my love didn't falter or fade, it only grew stronger. And I know that I sound like a Hallmark card right now, but this is me  _talking_  and not keeping it all boxed away and hidden. So, I don't know, just say something."  
  
"I bumped into Tom." Jensen tenses up almost immediately, but just for a second. Jared takes comfort in that. "He said I was a coward. And he's right. I'm scared of losing you, scared that if we make everything official, that we'll lose sight of  _us_."  
  
Jensen reaches over to take his hand, thumb sliding across Jared's palm. "Maybe we shouldn't get married. If we don't add that extra pressure, maybe things will smooth themselves out."  
  
Jared finally turns to look at him, desperate to see what Jensen  _isn't_  saying. "And you would be okay with that?"  
  
"Yes," Jensen says, his tone unsure, and his response far too quick. "Because you're all that matters to me, not some piece of paper."  
  
Jared smiles at him and rests his head on his shoulder. Jensen's wrong -  _they're_ all that matters.  
  
~  
  
The first thing Jared does is take back his wedding from Chad, who apologizes for once, looking sheepish and contrite when they meet up the next day. Jared's not sure what Chad's deal is but enough is enough. He's been a good friend, he's bailed Chad out more times than he can count and he just doesn't understand Chad's reservations about Jensen. So he gives Chad an ultimatum, either he comes clean or they stop hanging out together on a one-to-one basis.  
  
"You can't be serious?" Chad says when Jared says his piece. "All this because I spilled your secret. I wanted to you guys to get back together remember?"  
  
"That doesn't explain your behaviour of late," Jared says. "And I'm kind of done carrying you, of bailing you out when you can't even keep a simple promise."  
  
Chad frowns and scratches a hand across his short hair. He looks unhappy. "Fine. I...look, the only reason I told them is that I knew what they'd say. And I knew that you would freak. I didn't do it because of Jensen, I  _promise_. I have no beef with him, haven't for a long time, it's just that I'm  _jealous_. I've spent the last ten years playing second fiddle to him, wondering if I'll ever get my best friend back and...I did. And I didn't want that to end. I'm sorry, okay? I just didn't think." Jared shakes his head. He wonders what it is about people harbouring certain feelings for years; perhaps it isn't much different from being in love. Chad's fears are justified in a way, once he and Jensen get married things  _will_  change, but that's life. Besides this will be good for Chad, Jared thinks, a chance for him to find himself, to forge an identity for himself outside of being 'Jared's best friend' or 'The Lazy One'.  
  
"You're an idiot," Jared replies. "Look, how often we see each other might change, and how often we talk but there's one thing that won't. I'm always going to be your best friend, and I'm always going to be here."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Chad says in a gruff tone, though Jared can see the shadow of a smile on his face.  
  
"You can't just snatch the wedding out from under me!"  
  
Jared chuckles. "I kinda can. As much as I love you and the others, you're all interfering busybodies who think you know what's best for me and Jensen."  
  
"But we do!"  
  
"No, you don't,  _we_  do. Jensen and me. And that's how it's going to be from now on."  
  
~  
  
Technically, Jared isn't planning the wedding anymore. He and Jensen agree that they should wait a while, though Jared knows that it is only for his benefit. So he takes over all of the planning and decides to keep his original plan in motion. After fourteen missed calls from Chad, he finally agrees to let him back in on the plans. Mostly because Chad didn't give him any of the catering information.  
  
"Well, there was a slight hitch," he says when Jared arrives at his apartment. "My aunt won't help us out unless I get rid of my Dodgy Cousin Kevin's dodgy beer. And even if I do, she's only willing to do it if she can put rainbows on the cake on account of."  
  
Jared blinks at him. "Where do you  _find_  these people?"  
  
“Flea markets mostly,” Chad says. “There’s this one guy I know who bakes potatoes in his trunk. And they actually taste better than you’d expect.”  
  
Jared puts his head in his hands. Honestly, he should have just gotten his Mom to plan the whole damn thing for him.  
  
~  
  
It’s  _T-minus Two Days_ and Jared’s still running around town, trying to get everything together. Jensen’s been working more and while Jared’s bummed not to have him around, he’s glad to have had the time to get everything done with Jensen finding out. Naturally, Chad manages to get himself in trouble with the law (again) and he has to bring Katie on side, despite her initial reaction to the wedding, He hasn't really spoken to her or Danneel since; doesn’t really want to, even if Chad was responsible,  _but_ he knows that he’s being petty, so he’s willing to let it go.  
  
“You know me and Danneel talked about it,” Katie says as they wait in the lobby of the hotel where the ceremony will be held. “We think it’s a nice idea, and even if we don’t, Jensen’s been down ever since you called things off - well, pretended to anyway.”  
  
Jared looks at her silently; he doesn’t really want to get into it. “You don’t have to try and be nice to get me to being mad at you.” He forgives easily, always has. Some might say it’s a weakness, but Jared would rather let things go than let them fester.  
  
“I’m really sorry either way,” Katie says. “Danneel running her mouth off was to expected, I mean, she always has Jensen’s back.  _I’m_  supposed to have your back and I let you down.”  
  
“It’s okay,” he says. “I’d rather hear your honesty than have you agree with everything I do and say out of loyalty. Besides, Chris told me not to listen to you guys anyway.”  
  
Katie raises an eyebrow. “Our friend Chris who seems to have vanished into thin air? He's missed my last two dinner parties." Jared rolls his eyes. It's not like she's the Queen of freaking England; her dinner parties are hardly the event of the season.  
  
"Yes, him," Jared says patiently. He glances at the clock on the wall, and wonders what's taking so long. He's only here to book a couple of rooms for his and Jensen's parents.  
  
"Doesn't Jensen's mom hate you?" Katie asks as she flips the binder where Jared's been keeping all of his plans. "I'd let her pay for her own room."  
  
"Unlike your wedding, I'd rather not antagonize the guests to the point where the wedding video cuts off after someone is accidentally punched in the face."  
  
"Says the guy who was in the middle of the punch up that happened at Sandy's wedding."  
  
"Touché," Jared says with a laugh. He hopes that his wedding will go a lot smoother than both of those.  
  
~  
  
Getting Jensen to the venue is easy enough, even if Jared has to fork out an extra couple of bucks to put Jensen up in a room for the night. He arranges it with Jensen's boss over the course of the week. Jensen thinks that he’s at the hotel to schmooze a potential client. Bizarrely enough Mr Robertson only agreed when Jared mentioned the fact that there would be an open bar.  
  
Telling the group not to fuck everything up is a different matter. Especially because all of the beer from Chad’s dodgy cousin seems to be making them a little crazy.  
  
“Remember that time we went to that Halloween party dressed as the Backstreet Boys’ Drowning video?” Chad is saying as they’re camped out at Katie’s house. The rest of them laugh along and Jared smiles a little but truth be told he’s not really feeling the conversation, or the dodgy beer. The thought of going back to his empty apartment comforts him for all of five seconds before he realises that there’s somewhere else he’d rather be.  
  
“I’m going to head off,” he says, standing up when they acknowledge him for a few seconds and go back to whatever story Chad’s telling. He’s up and out of the door within a minute, smiling to himself as he hails a cab.  
  
He sends Katie a text as he pulls up outside the hotel.  _Tell the othrs to b on their bst behavior tmoro!_  She doesn’t text back right away so he pockets his phone and pays the cab driver.  
  
Tonight’s his last night as a free man, but to be honest, he hasn’t really been free since Jensen captivated him all of those years ago. A fact that he doesn’t mind one bit.  
  
If Jensen’s surprised to see him, he doesn’t show it, he just welcomes Jared into his room with open arms. It's not exactly uncommon, for Jared to end up following him on a trip. It's just been a long time since he has, and even though this isn’t the same, he thinks that Jensen will appreciate the sentiment.  
  
“You’re just in time,” Jensen says easily. “I was just about to watch a movie on Pay Per View. I was dangerously close to picking  _Pretty Woman_.”  
  
~  
  
The morning of the wedding is chaotic to say the least. He has to somehow usher all of his guest in and make sure that Jensen doesn’t catch wind of anything that’s going on. A job that involves him answering the same question over and over again until his mother chastises him for snapping at her. Meanwhile Chad’s off hitting on the concierge and Katie is barking orders at people who have no idea who she is. Aldis isn’t even here yet and he hasn’t heard from Chris. At around midday with two hours to go, Jared gives up and joins Danneel and Jeff in the bar.  
  
“I’m confused,” Danneel says, sounding like she’s on her third martini already. “Katie said we were here to watch you perform some opera type song but...that doesn’t seem like an all day thing? Unless your intention was for us to be drunk enough to like whatever it is that you’re playing?” Jared groans and turns to leave, pausing only to flip Jeff of for having the nerve to look so amused. He goes outside, to the nice garden area that’s probably restricted unless you pay extra money but at this point, he doesn’t give a fuck.  
  
“I know what you’re up to, you know,” a voice says from behind him. He turns to see Jensen, dressed in his tux and the range of emotions he goes through next is like something out of a Nicholas Sparks novel (and Jared is totally man enough to admit that he reads them). He pretty much just got their old ones redesigned because back during his whole ‘crap dammit-I-called-off-my-wedding-what-do-I-do-now?’ phase he didn’t make any attempt to return them and by the time he got around to getting his deposit back, the hire shop was gentrification’s newest victim.  
  
“And just like that my house of cards have fallen down,” Jared jokes. He’s not really all that upset that Jensen’s figured it out, lord knows that he would have given that the day’s not exactly turned out how it should have been.  
  
“Well, actually, that happened when the caterer called the apartment to ask how many guests would be at the reception,” Jensen says as he steps forward, his shoulders brushing against Jared’s as a slight breeze dances amongst the flowers.  
  
“I thought that planning it myself and cutting down the guest list would make things a little less chaotic, but no...everyone is still completely bananas and it’s all gone a little haywire. I’m starting to think that we should have just gone to the courthouse.”  
  
“Or we could have just called everything off like we agreed,” Jensen says. “If you’re doing all of this to make me happy then...you’re wasting your time, Jared. I meant what I said. I’m okay with us  _not_  doing it.”  
  
Jared turns to face him. “And that’s exactly why I needed to do this. The fact that you’d be okay with me  _not_  being okay made me realise that I was being an idiot. I love you and...I want to marry you. Today.”  
  
Jensen grins at him, doesn’t argue or try to question if that’s what Jared really wants. He just accepts it. “In that case, we have two nosy mothers to intercept and we need to rescue that poor guy Chad was harassing in the lobby.”  
  
“Ugh, you saw that?” Jared grimaces. Seriously, it’s like Chad isn’t even house trained sometimes. “To think that he’s officiating our wedding.”

 

Part Two  
  
 **Jensen**  
  
Three hours, one ambulance call, two slightly intoxicated mother-in-laws and a drunken Danneel doing her best Britney impression later, Jared and Jensen step out into their reception as husbands. The ambulance call had been for Chad, who’d been knocked out square in the face by the girl he’d moved onto harassing. The intoxicated mothers’ thing had been part of Jared’s master plan to get married with the bare minimum people in the room. However, leaving everyone idle in a room with a fully-stocked bar probably wasn’t his best idea. Danneel was just...Danneel, with the slight difference of the six strong martini’s currently churning away in her stomach. Jensen finds it kind of hilarious but given that Jared went to a lot of trouble to put everything together, he does his best to keep a straight face.  
  
“Did Danneel really interrupt our wedding to sing ‘ _Slave 4 U’_  or is this all just one bad, bad nightmare?” Jared’s face pulls into a sour expression that Jensen definitely doesn’t find amusing. They’re finally sitting down, after taking a countless number of pictures and talking to what seems like every person on the whole damn planet. Jensen is trying and failing to come up with something nice to say about the unicorn shaped cake, but he can’t. It’s just...hilarious.  
  
“Jeff is threatening to put the whole thing up on  _YouTube_.” Jared groans and lets his head drop to the table. Jensen pats him and goes back to eating. He doesn’t know how and where Jared got the money for all of this, and he’s yet to get an explanation about the cake, but there’s one thing he knows for certain, the food is  _good_.  
  
“Our wedding was an unmitigated disaster,” Jared whines. “Imagine if Katie hadn’t been forward enough to get her officiate license last year. We wouldn’t even be married!”  
  
“She sure kept that quiet,” Jensen says. “But I wouldn’t say it was a disaster. She came through and  _you_ finally put a ring on it. I’d say that’s a success.”  
  
“Even though our wedding video is basically going to resemble the pilot episode of one of those shows that just plucks random videos off the internet and slaps a laugh track over it?”  
  
Jensen laughs. He’s not sure when Jared got so sentimental, though his distress over the service is probably down to nerves. Jensen was just happy enough to have gotten through the damn thing, but there’s no way he’s missed how stressed Jared’s been all week with the planning and last minute details. He’s probably exhausted.  
  
“I think our wedding was perfect,” he says honestly. “Think about it. Me, you, Chad...the whole group, we’re all one crazy bunch. It figures that we’d have a completely crazy wedding. I expected nothing less. And none of that changes the fact that you put all of this together for  _us_. Knowing that makes today that much more perfect for me.”  
  
“Including the cake?” Jared looks amused, so Jensen figures that he has permission to say what he really thinks.  
  
“Absolutely not,” he replies. “That cake is one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen. It looks like a piñata that got lost on its way back from a Pride parade.”  
  
Jared frowns. “I honestly thought it was a piñata cake at first. The rainbow icing was kind of misleading.”  
  
“My mom hates it,” Jensen says with a wry chuckle. He probably shouldn’t bring her up now, not when Jared’s obviously feeling a little rough, but he can’t help it, he’s  _happy_. And, he maybe needs to have a stern talk with his mother about the whole ‘hating Jared’ thing. It’s not that she really hates Jared, she just dislikes him for what he is, a quote ‘philandering musician with no real goals or aspirations’ unquote. If it’d been down to her there’s no doubt he’d be marrying some congressman, or banker or someone like that. In the ten years that he’s been with Jared, that’s always been her stance and after today, she’s going to have to get over it or get used to him not being in her life.  
  
“Mine loved it,” Jared says. “My dad wasn’t so amused.”  
  
“At least your dad turned up,” Jensen says. “Mine’s in Turks and Caicos with my stepmother.” Before Jared can answer, someone joins them at the table, the scent of cigarettes and alcohol rife in the air.  
  
“Did I miss anything?” Chris looks at them expectantly and Jensen raises an eyebrow. He’s barely seen Chris these past few months, barely even heard from him. It’s kind of funny how people drift apart for no real reason and how alliances fade away to form new ones.  
  
“Chris!” Jared is saying happily when Jensen tunes back in. He reaches over to thump him on the back soundly “You made it! How’s life on the road going?” Chris’ band has been touring of late, playing at small venues and clubs across the tri-state area. Jensen’s not sure if they’ve got a record deal or not, but he finds that he doesn’t know much about the band anymore. Back in the day he’d never miss a show, would truck all across town with Jared or Danneel, but now, Jared’s the one that’s completely enamoured. Jensen feels kind of sad about that for several reasons. Jared’s always wanted to be some kind of internationally-known pianist with awards and accolades and the travelling that comes with them, but he’s accepted the fact that it probably won’t happen. So in a way, following Chris’ band is his way of living his dream vicariously. Obviously, a band and one guy sitting at a piano are two very different things but it’s some kind of musician buzz, some sense of euphoria that Jensen doesn’t get, but Chris does, and he’s grateful that Jared at least has that in his life.  
  
~  
  
Being married after ten years is kind of weird in that...nothing really changes. Jensen’s aware of Jared’s habits, knows almost everything there is to know about him. Things just seem to stay the same. He goes to work. Jared tutors kids and hangs out with Chad. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. It’s a stagnant cycle and Jensen hates it; he just doesn’t know what to do about it.  
  
“Well, it’s obvious,” Danneel says when they meet for coffee. “You guys never had a honeymoon! Two weeks of lying in bed and sex and you’re good to go.”  
  
“Says the world’s most renowned relationship expert,” Jensen retorts sarcastically. “Our sex life is fine and we can go on vacation whenever, it’s just, we’re falling back into a rut and I don’t want that.”  
  
Danneel pauses from where she’s using a spare wooden stirrer to file her nails. “Well, try and spice things up a bit. Do something spontaneous. Go out for dinner. Tell your boss that you can’t do overtime for once. I don’t know, maybe you should ask Aldis and Katie. They seem to have this relationship thing down. Jeff tenses up whenever I mention my dream wedding, honestly, like getting married isn’t the next step?”  
  
“You are a lost cause, my dear,” Jensen says and he leaves it at that.  
  
~  
  
Deciding to take Danneel up on her advice, he considers what they could do together. Jared’s not really a traditional guy. It’s one of the things that drew Jensen to him all of those years ago when Jared was some dumb kid who refused to give up until he got one date out of Jensen. All of their first dates had been completely weird yet...Jensen was kind of enamoured with them. And he knows that before they split, and even since they’ve gotten back together they haven’t really done anything really out there, it’s just been dinner and walks, movies. All of the fun stuff they used to do together seems to have vanished into thin air or been transferred over to Chad, and well, Jensen’s ready to take them back. To be the same Jensen he’s always been and not the work obsessed guy he’s been for the last couple of years. Yes, the money is good and he was quickly promoted and should be looking to move even further up but...Jared’s more important than any of that and Jensen misses what they had, back when they were spontaneous, when it wasn’t him coming up to an empty apartment and a text from Jared saying he’s out.  
  
He’s determined to make things right.  
  
~  
  
They get into their first fight not long after that revelation, after Jensen’s called into work on a major project that requires all of his attention. It’s his fault, his issue, but he just snaps. Loses it when he comes home to find the apartment empty once again. It’s late and he shouldn’t expect Jared to sit around waiting for him, but just once, it’d be nice to come home to someone. He gets that Chad’s having abandonment issues or whatever, because he finally realises that his life is a mess or whatever, Jensen doesn’t really care. Anyway, he gets that but at the same time, it’s the age old issue. Jared ditching him for Chad. Jared not putting him first, and before he got it but now that they’re married he...he could really do with Jared here. So he screws up and he gets angry.  
  
“You’re never home when I get back!” He’s yelling, even as Jared’s shoulders are slumping in defeat. “You’re never fucking here!” It doesn’t make him feel any better and soon his own stance mirrors Jared’s. Shoulders hunched downwards as he takes a deep breath. It’s not Jared that he’s mad at, it’s  _himself_. He’s the one who’s never home. He gets to the bar late, he has to leave breakfast early, all for a job that he’s starting to hate. His boss is a functioning alcoholic who expects him to do everything and Jensen's not sure that he can take much more.  
  
“I’m sorry…”  
  
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, because you’ve been acting kind of weird for a while now,” Jared says slowly. “And I know that it seems like I’m never here, it’s just that if I stay, then I was going to be the one who ended up yelling at you.”  
  
“We should get away, sometime, have that honeymoon we’ve talked about,” Jensen says, deliberately changing the subject. “I just...I really need to talk to you.”  
  
“Okay,” Jared says. “We can do that.”  
  
~  
  
Jensen’s father pays for them to go out to stay at his beach house in Mexico, in return for Jensen spending an evening in the presence of Daphne, his stepmother. He doesn’t hate her or anything, it’s just weird to watch his Dad with a younger woman. He always feels as if he’s betraying his mom somehow. Luckily for them, his Dad heads back to Texas after a couple of days, leaving them on their own. Naturally, they spend the ensuing week catching up on all activities that  _don’t_ include talking about where the hell they go next. They have more sex than they did when they got back together and that’s saying something. It’s not like it’s all bad, it’s the one front where everything’s clicking, Jensen just needs to make sure that all of the slots are in their right places.  
  
“I want to quit my job,” Jensen says out of the blue when they’re lying in deck chairs, soaking up the sun. Jared’s applying his sunscreen and while it’s distracting, Jensen knows that they need to have this talk  _now_. “I should have left that place a long time ago. Maybe right after I lost you.”  
  
“You didn’t lose me,” Jared says softly.  
  
Jensen lies back, stares at the tinted view of the sky from the shield of his sunglasses. “I almost did, because I didn’t see all that you’ve given up for me, because I put so much of myself into this job.” It’s something he’s been thinking about ever since he watched Chris and Jared talk at the wedding, since he saw Jared’s eyes dim a little as he listened to Chris talk about  _his_ dream. He wants that for Jared. He wants to be able to come home and watch Jared's eyes light up, wants him to go out and do the things he's always wanted to. Back when Jensen was getting his Masters and interning for nothing, Jared worked dead end job after job so they could pay the bills, put food on the table, clothes on their backs and he's never complained. Jensen has no doubt that if they hadn't broken up, Jared would still be at the restaurant playing the same songs every night.  
  
"You've always been supportive," Jared says. "I mean, I know piano music isn't really your thing, but you always listen."  
  
"I want to do more than listen," Jensen says. "I want to watch you play to a hundred people and I dunno, orchestrate a freaking symphony."  
  
Jared laughs, the ice in his drink clinking as his shoulders shake. "What's gotten into you? You've been on edge since the wedding. Is everything okay?""  
  
"No, it isn't," Jensen says honestly. "But it will be. I don't want us to be one of those couples that barely see each other. It clearly doesn't work for us. So I think we ought to figure something out."  
  
"Like Nerf Gun fights?" Jared snorts. "You never did explain that whole thing to me. You got kind of upset after I  _destroyed_  you."  
  
"I did not!" Jensen protests. "And to answer your question. Third date. March 15th. 2004. You spent all of your money on your candy stash and it was your turn to pick where we went on a date."  
  
"And Chad worked at that arcade in town and he snuck us in. I was flat broke so I challenged you to a nerf fight," Jared recalls. There's an odd expression on his face that Jensen can't place. "I can't believe you remember that. I was so embarrassed afterwards. You can ask Chad, I was practically hyperventilating when I got home. I thought you were going to dump me." Jensen is surprised to hear that, though if his (admittedly hazy) memory serves him well, Jared had been extra jittery that day. At the time he just found it cute. It's funny how agreeing to date Jared just to get the kid to leave him alone turned into something else. Something that he plans on never losing.  
  
"Was I really that scary?" his tone is light, not wanting to make Jared feel some kind of way about it.  
  
"You spent the first month of our relationship telling me how you didn't think people could stay with someone for long periods of time without it getting boring, you thought marriage was stupid and dating was just a way to make it look like people didn't want to skip straight ahead to sex," Jared says. "So I did kind of thought that my days were numbered."  
  
"I was an idiot back then," Jensen says. "And probably using my parents as an excuse to play the field. But you know what, that's the past. How about we focus on our future?"  
  
Jared raises his glass. "I'll drink to that."  
  
~  
  
It takes a few more months before Jensen can walk out of his office and be happy with the knowledge that he's not going back. Despite that he makes an effort to actually delegate his work and spend time with Jared. It's not easy, but they manage to work out a routine.  
  
"So why are you sitting on my couch with a long face?" Danneel asks when Jensen tells her this. "Me and Katie were supposed to be watching Clueless." Jensen's mouth definitely doesn't twitch as he thinks of Katie's SOS text. Danneel might be a lot of things, but a girls night girl she ain't. Movie night was usually code for 'talking about her latest boyfriend until Jensen feigned tiredness and got the hell out.  
  
"Because Chad made Jared promise to watch the Real Housewives of Plastic marathon this week," he says. "I'm sharing my husband with Chad Michael Murray. Ugh. What's Chad's deal? You can't have not noticed that he suddenly has all of these places and things to do with Jared."  
  
"It's always been that way," Danneel shrugs. "Why are you so cut up about it now? Wait...are you  _jealous_  of Chad?" Jensen scowls at her. He's not  _jealous_ he just doesn't understand what Jared sees in Chad. Or why Chad seems to enjoy hogging Jared's time.  
  
"No, I just...I mean, he...I don't know," Jensen replies. "I suppose I am a little. I've known Jared for what, eleven years? But Chad's been around for all of that time. I guess I sometimes feel like I'm competing with him for Jared's attention." It’s stupid, he knows that it is. It’s  _his_  issue and he has to deal with it, before it’s too late.  
  
"I think marriage has made you a sentimental idiot," Danneel retorts. "You've always been the first one Jared's focused on. And you know that. So, this whole Chad thing? Is an excuse." Jensen hates that she knows him so well, and he kind of hates himself for feeling so conflicted. Yes, he's glad that he and Jared are finally married, finally about to plan the rest of their lives. He's glad about all of that but there's a part of him that wonders why it feels like it all passed by in a blur. Why Jared was so eager to get married as quickly as possible. While he knows that these are probably his issues he just wishes that he'd had more time to process things. To come to terms with the fact that this was it, this was the rest of his life, but he didn't get that time and now his brain has been in overdrive for months as he gets used to it. In some ways he feels cheated and in other ways he feels relieved that he didn't have to go through the hustle and bustle of planning the wedding. He knows that Jared did what he did for  _him_. He most definitely would have hated the whole process, yet he would have done it for Jared. Now it just feels like they're on uneven footing. He feels like that naive 23 year old all over again, wondering if he'll ever love Jared the same way Jared loves him.  
  
"Jensen, honey, it just sounds like you're, I don't know, looking for reasons to worry," Danneel says soothingly. "He's not going anywhere."  
  
Jensen doesn't know why he can't quite believe that in his head.  
  
~  
  
In the end, he meets Chad for a drink to try and sort out this particular issue once and for all. Outside of the group, he and Chad have had their problems. Problems which they put aside when Jared was away. Jensen thinks that it is time to bury this non-feud once and for all. They got along well enough before. During...well,  _during_.  
  
"So...Jared told me about the conversation you had, before the wedding about giving me a chance," he says. Chad raises an eyebrow but makes no attempt to respond. "And I just want to know what it will take for you to get over any resentment you still have towards me."  
  
Chad laughs dryly. "You could stop being an asshole." Jensen smiles despite himself.  
  
"That's asking a lot." Chad doesn’t smile back, and if anything he looks a little pissed off. Jensen lets his smile fade away, sensing that he’s about to be read the riot act.  
  
"Danneel told me some of what you said to her. About me trying to compete with you for Jared. I'll tell you what I told her. That's bullshit. If you want to spend time with Jared. Make time! I'm actually trying to help you."  
  
"How so?" Jensen’s only ever known a Chad who looks out for his own best interests, so really, this is news to him.  
  
"I keep him occupied when you're working your twelve hour office job, keep him from feeling alone, like you've abandoned him again," Chad says. "Watching  _Bravo_  might be a shitty distraction but it is one all the same. I just don't want Jared to end up in another situation where he feels as though he can't talk to us. And you know what, yes, I have my reservations about you. There's just something about watching your best friend's heart being crushed over and over again for a year that I can't forget, even after all of these years. But...despite that, he loves you, Jensen. And you love him. You're married now and it's just the two of you. I'm not in the middle of anything here. You and I both know that he'd pick you over me any day of the week. So stop pouting and creating drama and just be a good husband."  
  
“Why hasn’t Jared said anything to me?” Jensen asks, feeling as if he’s _really_ dropped the ball - again.  
  
“He doesn’t want to rock the boat, and add to the stress of your job or something,” Chad says nonchalantly. “But whatever, today better be the end of all of this competition drama. We all know that I can kick your ass any day of the week. I just choose not to.”  
  
“Of course you do,” Jensen says with an amused look. “Of course.”  
  
~  
  
A couple of weeks later, Jensen leaves his office quietly. It's the last time that he'll be here but he doesn't think he'll miss the place. Well...maybe his desk, but that’s only because of that time he and Jared tested its sturdiness. He smiles at the memory as he unlocks his car; once he pulls out of the parking lot he doesn't look back.  
  
Jared's waiting when he gets back, along with what looks like six hours worth of stress baking. Coming home to cupcakes might sound like heaven but it's a nightmare for him. The high he felt on his way home evaporates as he contemplates what to say to his  _husband_ , and damn if that still sounds strange. A whisper of a thought picks at his brain but he can't focus, not when Jared is covered in flour and making a mess because he's upset.  
  
"What's going on?" he asks wearily, taking a seat at the kitchen table. He's probably going to make a mess of his work clothes, but he won't be needing them for a while so it probably doesn't matter.  
  
"This," Jared waves a hand in the air, barely noticing all the gunk that falls from it. "Us. Everything. Either we're trying too hard or we've made a huge mistake. And it is all my fault."  
  
Jensen doesn't follow Jared's words, but he decides to humour him. Truth be told, he was expecting some kind of lecture about Chad, and how there's enough of him to go round. This sounds far more serious than the Chad situation.  
  
"We got married way too soon," Jared says softly when Jensen asks him to explain. He opens his mouth to protest but Jared cuts him off. "Wait, let me finish, we really did. I wasn't planning on it being so soon after we got back together but then you got me that piano and I went kind of crazy." Jensen can hear in Jared's tone that he's being sincere and he wonders if Jared is right.  
  
"If we're meant to be then there's no such thing as too soon," he argues. Jared scoffs and gives up on the cookie dough he's been kneading.  
  
"You must have missed the part where I called off our wedding. Twice."  
  
Jensen rolls his eyes. "The second time doesn't count, but heck. Maybe you should have listened to me when I said I was okay with calling it off." He takes a deep breath and forces himself to push his irritation away; they're supposed to be sorting things out not fighting.  
  
"You didn't mean that," Jared says as matter-of-factly. "I know you, probably better than anyone. I think I can tell when you mean something. So don't pull that card on me. Just admit what's wrong here. It's not Chad, not really, so obviously it's me. So, spill. What's been bothering you over the past few months?" Jensen wants to say that the issue has been  _Chad_  and how Jared seems to want to spend all of his time with him, but that's not what it is. Jared's right. Still, it doesn't mean that he knows what's wrong, not in the form of words that Jared seems so desperate to rip out of him.  
  
He levels a look at Jared, takes in all of the mess and realises that this is the first visible sign he's seen from Jared. The first incident that indicates that he's been as stressed out as Jensen is.  _That's_  what's been bothering him, and it might be his fault. He remembers that day, when all of this started. Jared spending time on the roof like he did  _before_. He'd misread that situation completely, and it looks like Jared's been trying to spare him that by painting on a happy face when he's around, being the picture of calm, taking his moods gracefully. That's not what he wants.  
  
"I'm sorry," he says slowly. "You're right, I think. About us getting married way too soon. But that's just one thing. It's not the problem, is it? I'm so strung up about Chad because I feel like if you're not here, I'm going to miss all the signs I missed before. That you might not want to do this anymore. And I've been focusing so much on that that I've missed a fucking lot."  
  
"Like what?" Jared says.  
  
"Like, how you act like everything's okay and you don't argue back because you're scared I'm going to take something the wrong way," he replies. "That's not how it should be, so I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault, I probably should have more faith in you than that, it's just that it took me a while to realise that you probably needed time to get over certain things before we made a commitment." Jensen's not sure if that's true. Yes, he's always going to wonder but these days he barely does anymore. If there's one thing that he knows it's that Jared would leave if he wanted to; the fact that he's  _here_  is all that matters. Without trust, their marriage is never going to work and for once, Jensen has to ignore his head and trust with his heart - for the sake of their relationship.  
  
"It's done now," he replies after a lengthy pause. "I trust you. I love you and marrying you is probably the second most amazing thing I've ever done." He grins despite himself, hoping that he can lighten the mood. He hates it when Jared's down, because sadness doesn't look at home on his face. Right now all he wants to do is make Jared smile.  
  
"The first thing better be good, or you're sleeping on the couch tonight." Jared smiles back at him, shaking his head fondly as he stands to wash his hands. "Oh, and I love you too, by the way. And we will get through this." Jensen nods even though Jared's back is to him.  
  
"Especially now that I no longer have to work," he points out. "I am officially unemployed!" Jared turns back around as dries his hands.  
  
"Twenty bucks says you don't last a month before you find a new job." It's not the response that Jensen is expecting, but he finds that he doesn't actually mind. Jared knows that Jensen's mind is made up, and that towards the end, he didn't really enjoy the job anymore. There's not really anything else to say. Later, Jared will ask how he's feeling and Jensen will tell him, but for now, Jared's easy acceptance is perfect.  
  
~  
  
 **Epilogue**  
  
Sometimes people ask how it is that Jared and Jensen get along so well when they're obviously different, and Jensen isn't sure what to tell them. On one hand, he doesn't think that they are that different, but on the other, sometimes he thinks they’re worlds apart. For instance, he's not sure why Jared agreed to a double date with Danneel and Jeff. He can't think of anything else that he'd rather do less. Watching them slobber all over each other is not his idea of a good time. He's extremely grateful when they're done with dinner and making their way over to the bar to meet the others.  
  
Katie, Aldis and Chad are sitting in a booth when they get there, along with Chris, in the form of an iPad with Skype set up on it. Katie's drinking orange juice, which is weird but he doesn't say anything. He glances at Jared who looks as if he's trying too hard to remain contrite. It's adorable but Jensen wonders what's going on.  
  
"You're free to do the honours, Chad," Katie says when they're all settled. "You seem to love spilling secrets."  
  
"Bitch, please," Chad retorts. "I am an expert secret beholder."  
  
Aldis clears his throat, "Hey, less of the bitch."  
  
"It's a  _phrase_ ," Chad argues. "Anyway, before Aldis beats my ass, what they want me to tell you all is that Katie is pregnant." Silence falls at the table. Jensen looks around and finds that nobody looks surprised.  
  
"Not quite the reaction we were hoping for," Katie says sullenly.  
  
"We all knew," Jared says quickly. "Except for my boo, because he's forever oblivious."  
  
"Your boo?" Chad pulls a face. "Are we going to let him get away with that one?" Jensen's slowly starting to realise that he and Chad work a lot better when they combine their efforts into pulling pranks on the group. It was the fake chewing gum in the hair prank that really sealed their new partnership and Jensen regrets nothing.  
  
"Wait, no, I'm sorry," Jared says. "Please don't prank me. I'll give you free bl--" Jensen clamps a hand over Jared's mouth.  
  
"Be mindful of little ears," he says. He turns to Katie and Aldis. "Congratulations to you two."  
  
"Thank you!" Katie says. "I'm glad that someone here has decent etiquette."  
  
"Next round is on me, folks," Chris says, his voice barely audible through the tinny speakers.  
  
"You're in a different  _state,_ " Katie shrieks, her eyes tearing up suddenly. They all stare at her. "Oh don't look at me like that! Everything's changing. Jared and Jensen are married, Chad's in an honest to God  _relationship_. Hell, Danneel has been with the same guy for more than a month."  
  
"I resent that statement," Danneel interrupts, though she doesn't look all that bothered by it. Jeff laughs and then promptly winces as an elbow connects with his arm.  
  
"The point I'm making is that our little group won't be the same, but we're changing for the better," Katie continues. "So, here's to us. And the freshly squeezed orange juice that I snuck into the bar."  
  
"You haven't changed a bit, Cassidy," Chris says. "But you know me, I'll drink to anything."  
  
"To us!" Jensen calls out as he raises his beer. As they all repeat his toast, his eyes meet Jared's. He smiles as Jared brushes his hair back from his forehead, the gesture so familiar that it's almost as if he's doing it himself. Sometimes he wonders how they ever thought they could live apart, how they survived during the period when they were broken up. He always comes to the conclusion that it doesn't matter, what matters is the present.  
  
Their group of friends might all be changing, might be heading in different directions but there's always going to be one thing that stays the same. One thing that matters above all others - love.  
  
 ** _Fin._**  
  
Thanks for reading!


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